About Us

As a network of German family business entrepreneurs, we seek start-up founders with bright ideas. Next to financial capital, we support these founders with our own experience as entrepreneurs, our network as well as professional business model and team coaching. Our investment philosophy is typical for us as family entrepreneurs: We are more into people than things and more into long-term perspectives than short-term returns.

Investors + Coaches

Torsten Groth

Torsten has profound expertise in consulting leadership teams und family bussinesses. Now he provides this long-standing experience to bridges+links.

Rob Wiechern

As practitioner, consultant and scientist Rob is very enthusiastic about entrepreneurship and future - and about the people who shape both!

Andreas Dethleffsen

Andreas has developed his family business and its associated businesses for decades. Now, he looks forward to accompanying founders along their way.

Simon Dethleffsen

Next to his duties as a business consultant Simon strives to meet start-ups which challenge himself and his family business.

Torsten Groth

Torsten has profound expertise in consulting leadership teams und family bussinesses. Now he provides this long-standing experience to bridges+links.

Rob Wiechern

As practitioner, consultant and scientist Rob is very enthusiastic about entrepreneurship and future - and about the people who shape both!

Andreas Dethleffsen

Andreas has developed his family business and its associated businesses for decades. Now, he looks forward to accompanying founders along their way.

Simon Dethleffsen

Next to his duties as a business consultant Simon strives to meet start-ups which challenge himself and his family business.

Link

We connect innovative start-ups and successful family businesses. Together we strive to develop the (family-) businesses of tomorrow. On the basis of mutuality, trust and motivated personalities.

Our Family-Owned Businesses

Learn

The majority of our business shares have been owned by our families for multiple generations. We believe in people. Our acting and decision making is guided by trust and a long-term perspective.

Starting on Eye-Level

We accompany our start-up founders as partners on eye-level from day one. Our start-up founders keep direct contact with our family entrepreneurs and thus profit from their long-lasting experience. At the same time, we are entrepreneurs ourselves and hence ready and willing to learn from our founders.

Mutual learning

To fully unfold the potential of bridges+links, we create further linkages as opportunities to learn. This includes our frequently hosted network gatherings and our annual b+l summit.

Leverage

Let's talk business – and beyond business! At first, we are a provider of capital for exceptional start-up teams. Still, we are entrepreneurs through and through, but not investors. Hence, we offer our start-ups not only capital, but furthermore own entrepreneurial experience, our network, brands and access to potential customers.

As a family through thick and thin

The evolution of a start-up is just like the evolution of our own businesses not continuously positive. Instead, markets and technologies change, business models must be adapted, and new competitors come into play and show alternative solutions. The founding team is captured by social dynamics and the entrepreneurial growth must be dealt with on an organisational level. We know these situations from our own experience. In a case of crisis, we hence act not investor- but company-focused.

152Years of Experience

1Brands in the Portfolio

0Different Industries

15Active Countries

1941Employees overall

Our investment focus

The multiplicity of different backgrounds of our family entrepreneurs enables us to search start-ups without a narrowly defined industry or market focus. In favour, we demand the highest requirements from the founding team.

Interest in a personal relationship to a family entrepreneur

A digital business model

Established management team in start-up in place

The start-up has established its first product-customer relationships (proof of product + proof of concept)

B2B/B2C as well as all industries and markets are welcome

The start-up is lead from Germany, Austria or Switzerland and can potentially be scaled to other regions

Investment volume between T€ 250 to T€ 1.000. Interest for further financing rounds is substantial

Financing round should cover the financial requirements of the start-up for at least 24 months